Pellegrini - in need of a win.
GET SET FOR BARCA BACKLASH
By Mike Holden
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Barcelona v Valencia - Sky Sports 1 (Sunday, 1800 GMT)
Little did they realise until a week ago, but Valencia might have just landed the worst possible time to fulfil their obligation of playing at the Camp Nou this season.
Barcelona were knocked off their perch at the top of la Primera for the first time in 106 days after dropping two points against Almeria last Saturday, allowing bitter rivals Real Madrid to seize control of the title race with a dramatic stoppage-time winner against Sevilla a couple of hours later.
So the circumstances might be similiar to those when Sevilla visited Catalunya back in January having eliminated the champions from the Copa del Rey just four days earlier. The Andalusians were spanked 4-0 on that occasion.
Barca will be sore and, with the stinging criticism of boss Pep Guardiola still ringing in the players' ears, another backlash will be very much on the cards.
It hardly helps Valencia's cause that the champions have had an entire week to rest up and stew on the Almeria result while they were battling out a tense 1-1 draw against Werder Bremen (and Martin Atkinson) in the Europa League on Thursday.
It was a game that hinged on a couple of curious decisions from the English official and fatigue could well be a factor after Los Che were reduced to 10 men early in the second half, after which they proceded to step up their game and expend much greater energy in pursuit of a winning goal.
It remains to be seen whether Unai Emery will do Madrid a disservice by resting key players ahead of the return in Germany next week, but David Villa already looks doubtful after he was substituted late on nursing a shoulder injury.
All things considered, it's hard to see beyond a comfortable home win and we'll stake our claim with a solid bet on Barcelona (-1) to win the handicap at 6/5.
Real Valladolid v Real Madrid - Sky Sports 1 (Sunday, 2000 GMT)
Perspective has never been Real Madrid's strong point, so now they head full of sorrow into week 26 barely seven days after 'clinching the title' with a stoppage-time winner against Sevilla, following a remarkable fightback from two goals down.
They haven't actually won the league yet, of course, but it's merely a formality based upon the reporting of the Madrid-based press, just as it was a formality the Merengues would trounce Lyon in the Bernabeu on Wednesday.
Sadly for Manuel Pellegrini, football issues are settled out on the pitch rather than in the stars because while the pre-match hot air was none of his doing, he's now being made the scapegoat for elimination from the Champions League in a year when the final will be staged in their stadium.
The good news for the Chilean coach is that he probably couldn't have asked for a better fixture to get back in the saddle and ride through the storm.
It suits Madrid to be away from home on this particular weekend and they could ask for no better opposition than a Real Valladolid side in freefall.
The Jose Zorilla is hardly an intimidating venue and Pucela haven't won since the winter break, picking up just four points from the last available 30 and scoring just five times in 10 matches.
So Madrid should be able to pick up maximum points without playing particularly well and then, hopefully for Pellegrini, the worst of the wrath will have passed by the time he next stands on the Bernabeu touchline the following weekend.
Best of the rest:
Things have turned stale at Villarreal and now the timing could be ideal for us to land a coup on them suffering the ultimate indignity on Sunday afternoon by losing to rock-bottom Xerez for the second time this season.
The away win is available at 9/1, which is probably about right in terms of the relative quality in both dressing rooms, but it doesn't take into account all the circumstantial factors that suggest the Yellow Submarine could be an embarrassment waiting to happen.
The dismissal of Ernesto Valverde six weeks ago hardly came as a shock and they've yet to find an adequate replacement with former B-team boss Juan Carlos Garrido struggling to make an impression on a squad that's spent most of the campaign mourning the departure of Manuel Pellegrini.
They did threaten to turn a miserable start around by winning six out of eight league matches going into the winter break but their league form has levelled out at three wins, three draws and four defeats since the resumption, so a top-six finish is looking unlikely now.
Xerez might look a picture of poor health as they prop up the rest of the division on a measly 15 points but they've actually been performing with plenty of spirit in recent weeks.
Having scored just six goals in their opening 19 matches, the Andalusians have now netted 10 times in six outings and last weekend's 4-2 derby win over Malaga ought to instil them with a real appetite to finish the season with a flourish.
It's a long shot, of course, but the elements are there for the minnows to stage a repeat of their 2-1 success over the Yellow Submarine at the Municipal de Chapin back in October.
Preview posted at 1635GMT on 12/03/2010.
